The garden as of yesterday has been completely planted, and I'm thrilled to see little dark crumply leaves sprouting out from the potato hills 2 weeks from the time they were set. I'm going to see just how high I can pile those hills :) The last time I planted potatoes was with my father as a 10 year old.  Here's to you Dad! :)  He's in Heaven now,  but I planted them in honor of him this year.  Colyn begged for peas, so we planted those- twice.  He was a bit too eager,  but I didn't want to squelch his enthusiasm, so we took a chance back in April.  The second planting is doing nicely.  We have a yard of compost for sidedressing, and it's so rich and fun for Colyn to poke sticks at, until the bugs come out and irritate us both :) 

My cold frame experiment is doing well so far.  The true test will be this fall and winter, after the remainder of the garden has been harvested.  We are eating lettuce and other greens now, which is a treat in Maine if you don't have a greenhouse.  I also learned recently that carrot tops are edible by humans as well as bunny rabbits and horses; I found a neat recipe online for carrot top soup, so as soon as I am able to start pulling those carrots, we'll have carrot top soup as a side.  I can't wait. 

This year our garden is pretty diverse, considering it's size.  It's only about 14 X 20 feet. Plus, we have raised beds along the south side of the house. We have green beans (or yellow, I can't remember, but it'll be a surprise :), peas, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, radishes, spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and squash.  We started all of our vining plants and tomatoes and potatoes from seeds.  The pumpkins will go in next week once the plants get their true leaves.  We had a late start on those, and just as well, because the cold spell we are having in Maine right now is having a negative impact on the peppers.  I may have to keep them covered with plastic rowcover just to keep them alive this year.  Fortunately, I have 3 times as many plants as I need in the garden, because I may have to replant them- again! :)  There's no real rush in Maine.  The second week in June seems to be the magic moment for me, for getting those delicate plants in.

Our bread making endeavors have paid off tremendously. We eat homebaked bread almost exclusively now at a 1/4 of what we would pay at the store, or less. More out of necessity at the beginning,  it's been a blessing in disguise.  It's absolutely delicious compared to the boring, bland, and expensive bread in the stores.  I had a delayed sticker shock the other day when I realized that I am in fact paying a dollar more per loaf for bread than I payed last year- 25% increase in one year.  That's just the beginning. 

We have really had to cinch our wallets, but it hasn't been as painful for us as for some, because we already live a pretty simple life.  Still, there is always room for cutbacks.

Next year, we may be tilling our cottage lawn and planting a garden there, to further offset our food bill.  I don't think the guests will mind much.  We may try it for a year, because we have the perfect space.  Less mowing too :) 

This year we had to cut some of our evergreens in the front yard to give some sunshine to our little garden, and we're making the most of the space, but even my husband who normally wouldn't get too excited about tearing up the lawn, was somewhat enthusiastic about it.  I think he realizes that if I can make a garden grow under a hedge of trees, just think what potential I have in an actual garden space :)

My goal this year is to can some pasta sauce, and pickles, hold over root veggies in the cold frames, and eat yummy salad like crazy this summer.

Our other, more important project this spring has been the source of heat we'll need this coming winter.  We are both convinced that things are going to get very difficult in the coming years, and are both grateful that we have our little metal shop stove to heat the house with.  We salvaged about 5 or 6 cord of wood this spring, split and stacked it- mostly soft wood from neighbors yards which had fallen, and now we need another 3 cord or so of hardwood to help it burn warm enough to heat the house.  Eventually we may go with a larger stove, but for now, we're justing going to add a screen and a damper to let more heat into the house.  At night, we just stoke up the fire, and sleep under down comforters.  We're used to waking up to a 50 degree house anyway, and we all sleep better that way.  I think our son is part polar bear, because even in the mid winter, he insists on a tshirt, if that, and still kicks off the covers.  We've quite trying to papoose him.  :)  He climbs into bed with us around 2 am when he wakes up, (he says, to keep us warm :)

Yep, we're pretty convinced that some real hard times are coming, but we're choosing just to be thankful and take each day as it comes.  The lobstering business is slow as usual this time of the year, and combined with that the high price of fuel and the dropping price of lobster at the market is a bit scary, but we don't go there.  We just keep going on and trusting God to provide for our needs, and He always does.  We read through "The Long Winter" again this spring, and it seems the timing is so appropriate in helping us to prepare our son for the inevitable and necessary changes that we are making to keep our heads above water.  There won't be endless supplies of dry cereal- from now on, it will be homemade bread toast, hot cereal, or eggs, etc.  Very little processed food is coming through our doors.  We make our own yogurt and bread, stock up on seasonal fruits and vegetables, and are building our pantry with dry goods such as rice and lentils, spelt and wheat berries.   I'm not an alarmist, I'm a realist, so I hope that anyone who reads this will gain something positive for themselves in preparing for the coming hardships.  Neighbor helping neighbor is how we're all going to make it through, just like during the depression of the thirties.

If the concerns of the economy were not enough we have to worry about suspicious traffic coming by our house all the time.  We have a neighbor who is in trouble with the law for drugs, and was hauled away in handcuffs accompanied by 5 cruisers a few days ago.  He was apparently found with enough stuff in his posession to put him away for a long time.  In the meantime, we're getting a dog!  A big one with teeth that barks.  A friend of mine is giving me a black boxer lab mix- God bless her.  And Wayne is buying a gun- for hunting of course, and added peace of mind.  If the lobstering season goes bad, we'll be eating alot of our product, so a little venison on the side will help bring variety to our diet.